How To Conduct A Short Sale Of Your Home

How To Conduct A Short Sale Of Your Home

If you are thinking about foreclosing on your home, you should consider doing a short sale first.  Filing for bankruptcy not only destroys credit, but let’s be honest here, it carries with it a certain stigma that is somewhat shameful.   Regardless, many feel this is the only option if upside down on mortgage payments.  But there actually is another option: a better option.

A short sale is an agreement between the lender and the borrower in which the lender agrees to accept half the total amount do.  Lenders will complete short sales for a few reasons.  First off, they will no longer have to chase borrowers for payment.  Second, they will avoid the costs and troubles of foreclosing on the property.  Though some lenders will not consider a short sale, borrowers should definitely inquire before agreeing to foreclose.

If a short sale sounds right for you, the first thing you must do is contact the lender and suggest the idea.  If he agrees, call a real estate lawyer and inquire about the legal ramifications of following through with the short sale.  Finally, reach out to an accountant and ask about possible short sale taxes.  So before you even consider foreclosing, make sure to question the lender about a short sale.  You’ll save yourself time, money, bad credit, and a heck of a headache.

Considering Foreclosure? Don’t!

Considering Foreclosure?  Don’t!

The market is on it’s knees, and a ton of us are upside on our mortgages, dealing with negative equity, and plain and simple, living in financial hell.  Foreclosure might seem like a likely option, but before ruining your credit, you might want to consider a short sale: A short sale is a sale of a property in which the proceeds fall short of the total owed.  Short sales save lenders time and effort in trying to collect finances that the homeowner simply doesn’t have.  Sure the lender takes a loss, but everybody avoids foreclosure, which involves hefty fees, load of time, and bad credit for the homeowner.

HAMP, the federal Home Affordable Modification Program is making it possible for those upside on their mortgages to engage in short sales or deeds in lieu of foreclosure.  So before you foreclose on your property, consider a short sale.  After all, you’ll want to shop around in the housing market sometime in the future, and shopping with bad credit is never easy.  Now short sales don’t always pan out, but if you’re having trouble making payments on your mortgage, you have nothing to lose in trying before foreclosing on your property.  So go short, and consider a short sale.

Short Sale Realtor Beverly Hills

Are you looking for a Short Sale Realtor in Beverly Hills?

When dealing with high end homes it is important to know that you are working with not just a single short sale realtor, but many qualified short sale Realtors.  You want to make sure that your short sale is successful.  It is important to know that you have a team of experts on your side to make sure that you are not left with delinquency payments and liens to payback.  Housing Assist of America specializes in short sales located in Beverly Hills.  We have a team of experts who will help walk you through the entire process, and make sure to work diligently to get your short sale approves.  Everyone these days is a short sale realtor, trust a company that has dealt with over 5oo short sales.

Foreclosures Continue to Bring Down The Housing Market

Foreclosures continue to bring down the housing market despite a recent decline in underwater mortgages

By Joshua C Anderson, Lexington Realty Correspondent

As the holidays approach, many Americans are considering relocating to take advantage of the low prices available in the market. However, the savings are not a result of an amazing deal, there the aftermath of the worst housing crisis in history. For the miniscule market of qualified buyers, there are some great opportunities, but for the rest of the nation the turmoil continues. Just last week Forbes online magazine released an article of the worst hit cities in the nation, and that list continues to grow.

Cleveland Ohio was the top city to have the sharpest decline in home values, followed closely by Minneapolis and Portland. The nation however has seen somewhat of a decrease in underwater mortgage holders. But the problem of underwater homeowners still has an adverse effect on the market. The underwater homes carry the highest risk of default and foreclosures. The only realistic solution for these homeowners is a short sale. The short sale process has several benefits for the homeowners as well as the lender. The market will continue decline regardless of new buyers as long as there are foreclosures. Many delinquent borrowers do not want to face the fact that they will lose the house to foreclosure if they do not short sale, and there are still many holding on to the idea of the failed modification program.

In addition to the devastating consequences of foreclosure, many homeowners are opting for bankruptcy, deed in lieu and abandonment. All of which will continue to drive down the economy. If all of these delinquent borrowers choose a short sale, they will avoid all of these problems. Housing Assist of America is a southern California based company that has been named number one and is platinum certified through equator. HAA also has an immaculate rating with the better business bureau and doesn’t charge fees to facilitate the transaction. To learn more about them you can visit www.housingassist.com In these uncertain economic times its prudent to make the right decisions for the long run.

The Invisible Recession

The Invisible Recession

“An in depth look into what really happened after the economic collapse”

Joshua Anderson. Lexington Realty Correspondent.

We have all seen the apparent signs of the big recession. First there was the mortgage crisis, the failed banks, the Wall Street scandals and of course the unemployment rate. All of this began when the housing market began to collapse and continued on a downward spiral. The more homes that were foreclosed, the less equity became available. Small businesses began to take a dive and within a matter of months the entire financial infrastructure of the United States was faltering at a record rate. As the smoke began to clear, massive layoffs ensued and corporate giants began to buckle.

One of the highlights in this crisis was the big Wall Street bailout. Stronger banks acquired the weaker banks and we all believed that we, the American people, were somehow going to benefit from this. The outcome, we didn’t, not at all in fact. The only noticeable signs we saw of this bailout was that Wamu’s became Chase and Merrill Lynch became Bank of America. Aside form the obvious acquisitions in the news; we were left waiting for a savior. Homeowners who were delinquent were expecting modifications that never came to fruition, and the unemployed waiting to be hired again. In the midst of this fiasco, several large banks were compensating there executives with skyrocketing incomes & bonuses.

While the rest of the economy was struggling to keep up, Bank of America CEO Thomas Montag received a total compensation of $29,930.431. This was considered only slightly larger that that of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf who made just over $21,000,000.  These numbers are astronomical and completely unfair to the American people who are barely able to stay in their homes. The most terrifying factor is that for those who are facing foreclosure thought they had a fighting chance. However, the Obama administration made it clear that stepping up foreclosures is the only way to stabilize the doomed housing market.

At this point in time, there are not many options available to those who are struggling. There is however some long term tips to keep in mind. Continuing education may be the best way to secure a great career and of course smart savings and investments. There may be a recession but as you can see there is a dramatic difference between those who are feeling the effects, and those who aren’t.

Foreclosures Crippling the Economic Recovery

Home prices & sales are up but foreclosures are still crippling the economic recovery.

By Joshua C Anderson, Lexington Realty correspondent. October 26, 2010

Los Angeles-It’s been more than a few weeks since the major lenders have enacted the foreclosure moratorium. “We are looking intensively at the firms’ policies, procedures, and internal controls related to foreclosures and seeking to determine whether systematic weaknesses are leading to improper foreclosures,” said Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. Many homeowners are still clinging on to the idea that they will not be foreclosed as a result of this investigation. The reality of the situation is that only ten percent of at risk homeowners will get out the situation there in.

Several key factors that are adding to the demise of the housing market include the fact that the housing recession is nowhere near over. Most of the nation’s communities have not yet bottomed out and optimistic speculation is merely opinion driven. Once the market does officially bottom out, prices will not rebound automatically. It will take quite some time for the rest of the economy to get up to speed, and even then it will be a long recovery. Another common misconception is that the worst is in the past. Rick Sharga from Realty Trac, an online foreclosure company, says he does not envision foreclosure activity stabilizing until late 2011. There are still those who will continue to believe that there loans will be modified, even though several reports from the top news and government agencies confirmed that it was a huge failure.  One of the realistic solutions in this market is to mitigate as much as loss as possible. Many of the homeowners who are facing foreclosure do have an opportunity to salvage what’s left of there credit and financial future by attempting a short sale.

Knowing that are very few positive solutions to this crises, it would behoove homeowners to seek out reputable companies, attorneys and accountants. By doing adequate research, the average homeowner can avoid fraud and even foreclosure. According to the California department of real estate, companies that are conducting modifications, loans, short sale and forensic loan audits, arte required to be registered and certified with the department. It is up to the homeowner to seek out this information and make the right decision based on there situation.

Bank of America Resumes Foreclosures

Bank of America Resumes Foreclosures

On Monday, Bank of America stated that, after having reviewed 102,000 foreclosures in 23 states where courts must sign off on proceedings, they are now resuming the process on said cases.

B of A stated that the first of the new affidavits are scheduled to be submitted by October 25, 2010, and will continue reviewing in 27 other states soon after. According to a B of A spokeswoman, no errors were found during their review, and less than 30,000 foreclosure sales across all 50 states will be delayed as result of the investigation. The announcement came one day before the banks third quarter earnings report, the news sending B of A’s shares up 36 cents to $12.34 or 3.01%. B of A stated that the review process, “has been an important step to give customers confidence they are being treated fairly.”State Attorneys General have stepped up pressure on banks recently after it was revealed that some bank employees had signed foreclosure affidavits without verifying that the documents were accurate, also known as “Robo-signing”.

October 1^st was the initial launch of review for B of A, and October 18^th is said to be the day the bank will expand its document probe to all 50 states. The bank says that their initial assessments in the remaining 27 states show that the basis for their foreclosure decisions were indeed accurate.

So far at least five other major mortgage servicers have announced their own document review process. 1.8 million Loans are in foreclosure in the 23 judicial states, while 1.3 million are pending in other parts of the country, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst report.

950,000 to Repay Homebuyer Tax Credit

950,000 Homebuyers are to return the first-time homebuyer tax credit for 2009!!!

Apparently over half of the 1.8 million homebuyers who took the credit on their 2009 tax returns are required to payback the credit.  So what was the issue?

The issue is that there were 2 separate tax credits.  One which was in 2008 and the other in 2009.  Those who bought their homes in 2008 were able to deduct 10% or $7,500, whichever amount was less; that was a no interest loan that was to be repaid in 15 years.  Although for those who purchased in 2009, they received a similar credit as a rebate that they were able to keep. 

Notice of Default

Notice of Default definition:

A notice of default is a notification given to a borrower stating that he or she has not made their payments by the predetermined deadline. It dictates that if the money owed (plus an additional legal fee) is not paid in a given time, the lender may choose to foreclose the borrower’s property. Any other people whom may be affected by the foreclosure may also receive a copy of the notification.

Alan Greenspan: Double dip recession?

Are we facing a double dip recession?

It is important to remember the high unemployment rate, this constant increase of shadow inventory and increasingly  stringent mortgage underwriting standards will diminish any potential growth in the housing market for several years to come.  I am not pleased with the temporary fixes that they have done to “end the recession”.  I am sure that we will see another dip as these patchwork fixes don’t make for a long term solution.

A copious amount of shadow inventory from the refi boom (circa 2002-2007)will need to be flushed from the system, in addition to the numbers added from the high unemployment rate. Even if mortgage rates drop to .5% this still will not be a fix if the majority of people won’t be able to qualify for these loans.

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